Could Be Childish Determination
by Little Nanami
Summary: Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination. From the author of MY SISTER'S BOYFRIEND!
1. Prologue, Changes of a Lifetime

I want to thank **Mireille** for her help!! She corrected my most terrible grammar mistakes!!

Here it is **Mireille**! The prologue of my brand new fanfiction :D I hope you'll like it and review it! The first chapter will be coming soon! It will be: Mistuki's song. Guess what it is about!

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**Author's note:**

Hello Everyone!!

Here's my second fanfiction on Full Moon Wo Sagashite!!

I really hope you guys will like it as much as **My Sister's Boyfriend**.

This is also an alternate universe, but I follow most of the plot from the anime but with the characters' depth from the manga… I don't seem clear here… Well you'll have to read it then :P

I plan on using my own song for this one. I hope it won't turn out that bad.

By the way, if I'm not mistaken, Takuto would have been twelve years older than Mistuki if he hadn't die wouldn't he? Well I'm sticking to that in this fanfiction!

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full Moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction.

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**Could Be Childish Determination – Prologue**

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**Changes of a Lifetime**

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**"In this life"**

"**I'm missing so much things out"**

"**For every whim"**

"**For every word out of your mouth"**

A brown haired sixteen years old girl was singing on stage. Her longs curls were swinging around her as she danced to the music of her song. She seemed fired up, a serious expression on her face.

"**In this life"**

"**I'm tired of me, tired of you, tired of this"**

"**It's not like"**

"**You will ever make up for what I missed"**

She closed her eyes and twirled with the dancers behind her. The guitarist went up to the front for his solo part. He smiled at the singer as she hopped from side to side, clapping in her hands; the crowd imitating her. She returned him a sad smile as she started singing again.

"**I won't take this anymore"**

"**I'll just walk …"**

The words were lost as a deep pain ran through in her throat. She let go of the mic and fell to the stage floor. She couldn't move, it hurt too much. Tears started to slide on her cheeks and she couldn't stop them. She heard the crowd panicking, the dancers, even though their voices seemed so far, were around her. She heard her manager. She heard her producer. She heard the guitarist. She could only cry, the pain was too violent, too unbearable. Why, why couldn't he love her? Why couldn't he be honest? Tears continued to fall down. She couldn't hear anything now, even though the ambulance's siren was noisy, even though it was crowded and everyone was shouting. Everything started to get blurry and turned black as she fell unconscious.

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Two figures were walking side by side on the sidewalk. The older one, around twenty-five years old, was ignoring the aggressive attitude from the sixteen-year old one. They were an odd pair to see; a grey haired teenage boy wearing some hooded shirt, necklace and earrings arguing with his senior who was in formal clothing, his brown hair shorter than it used to be. Enraged with the conversation the grey haired boy shouted loudly:

"Can't you go by yourself, Keiichi… I don't care about her. I'd rather have Aoi-san and Hazuki-san bac…"

The boy didn't end his sentence as Keiichi yanked him by the collar near to his face. He glared down at the teenager and said very slowly:

"Don't ever say that in front of me ever again. I'm warning you, Takuto. I won't let you hurt the girl so you can satisfy your own little misery."

Takuto just stared back at him, his features showing his anger but he didn't add anything. When Keiichi let go of him, he folded his hands in his jeans' pockets and looked the other way. He kept the older man's pace as he conducted them to the orphanage.

Shouts and laughters from the children resonated from the backyard as the sun shone brightly. Keiichi opened the gate and walked in, soon followed by Takuto. The older man closed the gate as Takuto walked to the backyard. The teenager glared at the children that were happily playing together. The kids were so engrossed in their games that they didn't seemed to notice the new comer. The boy was about to turn around sharply just as he felt something tugging at his jeans. He was about to shout at whatever was touching one of his clothes but he saw two big pools of chocolate brown staring up at him.

It was a little girl, her pigtails were dancing softly as she smiled timidly up at him, her small hands clutching his pants. He was about to brush her off but something kept him from doing it. His hand, as if moving on its own, placed itself on her soft hair and she smiled softly.

"Don't go. Please, stay and play with Mitsuki!"

She wasn't more than five years old. His eyes wouldn't have widened more if she had say the dumbest thing on earth.

"My name's Kouyama Mitsuki. What's yours?"

"Kira Takuto."

Without even realizing it, he answered. That's when it hit him. Kouyama Mitsuki. She was the one. The one that had taken away Hazuki and Aoi. She was the "replacement". He looked down at her with disdain. She smiled sweetly at him. It made him sick. How could she smiled after her parent's death?

"Where are your parents?"

"In paradise."

She kept smiling at him.

"You're not sad? You're not angry?"

The small girl looked up at him and she clenched his jeans tighter in her small hands.

"A little. Sometimes. But Mitsuki can't be too sad because mama and dada are watching over Mitsuki from the sky. My dada was a singer, you know. And my mama loved songs very much. Mitsuki love singing just like mama and dada. That makes Mitsuki very happy!"

He couldn't help but smiled. He ruffled her hair and she pouted a little. He bent down to her level and put his hands on his knees.

"Hey kid, if you ever get lonely, I will come by. Okay?"

The four years old smiled at him. She took his hand and yanked him to the playground. The teen followed her with a bored look. The little exchange didn't go unnoticed by Wakaouji Keiichi. The man smiled. He knew bringing Takuto along would result in something good.

The teen came to see the little girl every day after school. They sat and talked; about music, about life. It was strange how much comfort the teen was able to get just by talking to the little girl. Mitsuki was always waiting for him to arrive near the white fence's gate. Sometimes, mostly every week, Keiichi went to see how Mitsuki was doing. He wanted to kept in touch with her because she was the precious little girl of Aoi and Hazuki.

The little girl didn't have many friends to begin with. Since her first day at the orphanage, she had been mostly alone, playing by herself. Her only friend was an older little boy, around eight years old. She called him affectionately Eichi-kun. When Takuto wasn't there, he was always with her; like a guardian angel. But every time Mistuki went to wait near the gate, he left her alone; he respected her privacy with the teen that came every day just to see her. It's because of Eichi-kun she was so knowledgeable and could talk with Takuto about almost anything.

Mistuki didn't want to remember when Eichi-kun left. It was too painful.

At the age of ten, her grandmother took her in. She almost had her own house in the backyard. Since her mother's health was really poor, it had been built for her. In had not been used for so many years that Mistuki's grandmother gave it to her. Mitsuki had never been to school and her grandmother didn't want her to go in a special class so she hired a private teacher. Lucky for her, a student full of promises had just gotten out of university. And so, the grandmother hired Wakaouji Keiichi, not linking the elegant looking young man to the long haired prince of Route:L. Takuto stopped coming to see her after she moved into her grandmother's house. He didn't stopped being a singer and he knew that her grandmother wouldn't allow Mitsuki to see him since she hated singers and anything related to music. He started exchanging letters with her through Keiichi so they could keep in touch. The man, now twenty-two, had grown quite found of the ten year old girl.

Time continued to pass and the letters stopped coming. The last time the girl had had news from Takuto was when he left for America for a surgery because of a throat cancer. He never gave any news after that. She was twelve years old at the time. Keiichi was still her private teacher, and a friend; since she had trouble making friends, he was the only one. Years passed by. Nothing much changed.

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This fall, the air was only just getting a little cooler as the trees coloured themselves with yellow, orange and red: it definitely was the nicest days of fall. A feminine figure hopped skillfully on the sidewalk. The sun was just beginning to show its sleepy rays, but the brown haired teen didn't seem to care as she hummed some song to herself. A smile was gracing her lips as she murmured lyrics quietly. Her big chocolate eyes wandered to follow a lone butterfly that didn't fit in the scenery. Without thinking she followed the peculiar flying being that flew over a massive white house that she knew well.

Sadness graced her features when she looked at the familiar orphanage, where she lived for over six years. It seemed the orphanage has gotten so much older over the years. She walked toward the entrance, delicately passing her hand over the wooden white fence that separated the sixteen years old on the sidewalk from her memories.

She always hoped that someone would come out as she walks by the old building. Someone she has been waiting for and will wait forever. Her cheeks turned redder as she thought of Eichi-kun and his love confession before he departed. She never had a chance to answer him… she never will.

The orphanage's front door opened soundly. Quickly the girl looked up. Her cheeks turned red as she moved so she could see more of the man that just came out of the orphanage. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest that it was resonating in her eardrums. She had been waiting for so many years to see him again. Her mouth felt dry as she tried in vain to gulp. The man was truly handsome in her eyes. His eyes were mostly covered by some loose grey bangs that didn't fit in his ponytail. He wasn't smiling and when she caught his eyes: they felt cold.

She stopped breathing. He was gazing right through her, his eyes staring directly in her chocolate ones. She saw the surprise that flashed for a second on his face.

"Takuto?"

He looked at her. His eyes told her he recognized her so why wasn't he greeting her?

"Takuto… Takuto…"

Mitsuki's eyes watered. It was as if reality just woke her up from a nightmare. She jumped over the fence, ripping her skirt in the process but she didn't care. She ran to the man and launched herself in his chest. She held onto the man's shirt and cried. He didn't do much to comfort her, only put his hand on her shoulder. It's like he was frozen in place.

She wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed her face against the warmth of his chest. A small smile graced her lips.

"I'm so glad you are back, Takuto. I'm so glad I found you again. Don't leave again. Please don't leave me again. I was so worried… so… so worried…"

The girl started crying again and the man couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and pressed her to him. Some tears made their way to his eyes but he hide his face in the girl's hair. She smelled of summer. A never ending summer. He smiled in her hair and they stayed like that for a little while. He walked her home and presented himself to her grandmother.

He had been a band mate of Aoi, a friend of Hazuki.

He wasn't into music anymore, he was studying to become a doctor. He didn't give much details about the change in career; only that he started studying in America and that he came back in Japan a year ago.

He was liked by the grandmother and thus had permission to see Mitsuki.

This is how they started meeting every Friday, after her lesson with Keiichi. He would bring her out, visit different places, eat in restaurants to talk about what had happened in their lives after that many years.

They never talked about music, it seemed taboo to even mention it. She respected that. But over the years, her love for music just grew more and more. She was determined to follow her promise with Eichi-kun and become a singer.

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**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**, I really want to improve my writing.


	2. Chapter 1, Mitsuki's Song

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Thanks a lot for your reviews guys! I'm glad you did!!

**Special Thanks to Mireille** that helped me correct some very bad grammar mistakes from the prologue!!

Author's note:

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction.

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**Could Be Childish Determination – Chapter I**

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**Mitsuki's Song**

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The sixteen years old girl was getting bored. Wakaouji Keiichi, her tutor, was determined in not ending the lesson too soon. Her long brown bangs glided on the floor as she turned over on her back.

"Mitsuki could you at least pay a little attention."

The teen rolled again to get back on her stomach.

"I'm sorry Wakaouji-sensei. I told you already, I can't seem to be able to focus at the moment."

The brown haired teacher sighed. He closed his trigonometry's guidebook and put it on the floor next to him. He passed a hand in his hair and sat more comfortably on the floor next to Mitsuki.

"Okay, time for a break then."

She looked up at him and smiled. That man was truly something else. He was calm, devoted to his work as a teacher, even though he had been the prince of Route:L in the past. He had told her most of what she knows about her parents since her grandmother didn't like talking about it. He took out cards from his cartable and started passing them to the two of them.

The teen took her card and smiled. He looked up at her and sighed. She really couldn't master a pokerfaced expression. He called for two more cards while she only called for one. He rolled his eyes as he dropped out and she won that round with a fullhouse. She rubbed her easy victory in as if she just smartly resolved a worldwide question. He smiled as he started to distribute the cards again.

"I'm going out later today."

His smile faltered a little. She had always been a lonely child. Because of her health, she had weak lungs, she almost never left the house. The girl still didn't have many friends… only him… and Takuto. Wakaouji sighed. Since Takuto has been back in Japan, since they had meet again, those two had grown closer and closer. The girl knew Takuto had been a band mate to her father and him. It probably was the reason why she was clinging so much to him.

He was afraid that, by just being around the two of them, she would take an even greater liking to singing. She wouldn't be allowed it. Her health and her grandmother were the most obvious obstacles to a singing career. Mitsuki smiled. She would never let him know that it was already too late. She had passed the first row of the audition at SEED Records.

Keiichi called for one card. Mitsuki had reddened cheeks. She called for three more cards. The twisted expression on her face told Keiichi that she had nothing in her hand to help her win this round. He raised the bid and she followed. He sighed. She really didn't know when to stop. He showed her his hand and she turned redder from anger.

"You cheated again Wakaouji-sensei!"

He laughed a little. And named his prized:

"Okay, break's over. Time to do some more maths!"

She pouted and got back down, lying on the floor. She looked into her exercise book and started to do the problems as Keiichi explained them to her one by one. He truly was a good teacher.

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After two more hours of maths, two hours of old Japanese and five other poker breaks, Keiichi started collecting all his belongings from the floor. With everything in hand, he stood up.

"See, it wasn't that bad for a Friday!"

Mitsuki pouted.

"You say that because you won most of the rounds."

He rolled his eyes. She wouldn't remember anything of what they worked on today. He knew it was going to turn out like this, so why did he bring the cards anyway? He sighed.

"Thanks Wakaouji-sensei. See you tomorrow!"

He smiled down at her. Saturday was only a self-study morning but he always came to make sure she did it and she didn't have any questions.

"You're welcome. Have fun tonight."

She got up in one bounce, her long brown hair almost getting step on in the process.

"Yeah! I will!"

She waved at him as he walked out of her door into the garden. He would go greet her grandmother in the main house before leaving. She smiled as she hurried to her drawer. She wanted something nice to wear for her interview at seven tonight. She hastily got dress in a long black skirt and a flowery chinese-styled tank top.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her appearance. She put her hair up so she would look more grown-up and add a little make-up. She was complimenting herself in the mirror when she heard her door opening.

She blushed as she found Takuto looking at her with a smirk on his face. She tried to hide the mirror with her body and skirt, as if she was trying to hide the object of her shame.

"Hi Takuto!"

He laughed.

"So how are you doing lovely Mitsuki, in this wonderful skirt and elegant shirt; that, by the way, seemed to bring out the colour of your perfect, deep brown eyes?"

She started to fume with anger. How much more did he heard? She was turning redder even though it didn't seem possible. Takuto laughed again.

"Are you finished? Because I can wait if you have some more things to say to your reflection."

That was it. She was boiling with anger. She launched herself at him and started punching his chest with her fists.

"Stupid Takuto! I wasn't doing that! Idiot!"

He took one of her fist in his hand.

"So, I take it you have finish?"

She didn't answer and turned her head to the side. He laughed a little. It was good to hear him laugh.

"I'm bringing you out for supper tonight, at Sakura's. Unless you have other plans?"

"As if I would have other plans… You know very well that all Friday nights are Takuto-nights."

He took her hand and a smile graced her lips. She was in heaven, Takuto was bringing her out for supper in a fine restaurant. He led her to his car, her hand still in his. He didn't seem to notice her reddened cheeks. On the passenger's side of the car, he looked down at her and let go of her hand. Her smiled faltered but he didn't seemed to notice.

She got in the car and Takuto drove them to Sakura's. Outside there were two cherry trees on each side of the entry. The place was really lovely. It was painted mostly grey with dark and light shad of pink. All customers were wearing suits and elegant dresses. Some customers looked up at her and started whispering between themselves. She blushed a little when she took a look at her clothes: was she too plain? She looked up at Takuto. He was truly handsome in his suit, just like always.

They were waiting by the counter for a waitress, Takuto had reservations. More and more customers were looking at her and whispering to themselves. She tug on his sleeve a little, her eyes caste on the pinkish marbled floor. The man looked down at her.

"What is it Mitsuki?"

Her eyes had watered a little, not used to confront so many people at once.

"I feel uncomfortable because so many persons are looking at me… Do I look too plain?"

He smiled but it had some sadness hide behind it.

"No, you are lovely. Don't worry about those persons, they are just not used to see people as young as you come here. And since your date looks so much older than you, sure they would start saying weird stuff. Just don't worry. I won't stop bringing out my little sister for some stupid reason like that."

She didn't comment. Even though she didn't like the little sister comment, she didn't say anything. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around his, and hide her face in the fabric of his suits. Mitsuki murmured to him softly:

"I still don't like them."

He rolled his eyes. If he was trying to protect her from some misinterpretations, she had just blown it all off. That close to him in public could be badly seen. But he wouldn't tell her that. Not now. He would wait until she was able to make friends of her own age.

The waitress came and showed them their places, near the grand window where you could look at the cherry tree. They sat down and received their menu.

"Hey, Takuto!"

The man looked up and smiled when he saw the familiar face: one of his classmates.

"Hiro! How are you doing? You didn't come to class this morning. What happened?"

The younger boy smiled sheepishly. He nervously passed a hand through his dark hair and answered:

"I had my exam for my driving license."

Mitsuki just smiled. She could try it out, but her grandmother wouldn't like the idea.

"And?"

Pursued Takuto as another guy came behind the first one. He had bleach blond hair and was followed by a pink haired girl.

"Well I passed it. On a whim, but still passed it."

Hiro looked at Mitsuki and smiled.

"You must be Kouyama Mitsuki-chan?"

He gave out his hand for her to shake. She blushed, shook it and nodded.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Onoe Hiro. Those two are Yui Meroko and Rio Izumi. We are all friends of Takuto."

"Please to meet you, Onoe-san! Yui-san, Rio-san!"

"You should bring her out when we go out! She's cuter than what you've let us known! Don't keep her all to yourself! Call me later Takuto!"

He skipped elegantly to the door, followed by the two others, one was laughing his heart out and the girl was blushing profusely while shouting at Hiro, before Takuto could answer. Mitsuki was blushing.

"Don't listen to him. He likes to play around with people."

"But he really seems like a good person. I'm glad Takuto has such great friends!"

Her smiled was sad, even though she didn't wanted to show it, she wanted to have friends really much.

"Hey, why don't I bring you one night, if your grandmother is okay with it?"

Her smile seemed to brighten but you could see the once of sadness that didn't seem to want to leave her expression. They ate and started talking about her lessons of this week, mostly about the poker game she played with Wakaouji Keiichi. The atmosphere had greatly lightened and Mitsuki looked at her watch. It was fifteen to seven. She really had to go. She couldn't tell Takuto about her real reason though. He wouldn't approve because of her health.

"Takuto, can I ask you something?"

He looked up to her eyes and pushed his plate lightly aside.

"What is it?"

"Well I got an interview in about fifteen minutes, it's about… modelling. I passed the first audition and I'd really like to become a model!"

He smiled.

"Then we better go, or you'll be late! Where is it?"

"SEED Records."

He had gotten up and started to walk away since the bill had been taken care of, but promptly looked behind him at her.

"I thought SEED Records was a great place to debut a singing career… you're not lying to me Mitsuki, are you?"

She lowered her head and tears started to slide along her cheeks.

"I just wanted… I really wanted…"

He sighed.

"Well come then."

He roughly took her hand and led her to his car. He drove them to SEED Records and followed her. He would let her tryout. There was no chance she would be chosen, but it could calm her desire to sing.

A man came and requested Kouyama Mitsuki.

She still held her head low. She was ashamed of lying to Takuto, one of her only friends. They walk to the office where the interview was held. A beautiful girl with purplish hair came out with a huge smile on her face. She looked condescendingly at Mitsuki.

"You don't have any chance. They already chose the new singer."

She walked away and Mitsuki lowered her head even more. Takuto put a hand on her shoulder. He was angry with that girl. What did she know? Nothing, she knew nothing at all about little Mitsuki here. He squeezed her shoulder softly and the girl looked up at him. He smiled.

"Show them what you've got Mitsuki. Show everyone how wrong they are!"

He didn't know why he told her that. Maybe it was the anger. But he still did and it seemed to soothe Mitsuki. They entered the room and five judges were waiting behind their desks.

"Kouyama Mitsuki, age 16. Tell us why you want to be part of SEED Records."

The girl was shifting from foot to foot.

"I want to be able to sing, sing to the world my feelings, my love for music. My loneliness, my happiness, my doubts, my hopes… I want to send them all to people."

The judges whispered between themselves.

"Kouyama Mitsuki, it's a song of your choice for this part of the audition. Prepare your soundtrack, please."

Mitsuki didn't move.

"Hmm… I don't have a soundtrack because it doesn't exist for the song I chose."

The judges nodded.

"Then sing."

Mitsuki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was really nervous. She let the music she knew very well wash her mind. She started singing very softly:

"**Kimi wo suki natte dore kurai tatsu no kana"**  
_I fell in love with you... just how long has it been since then?_

The judges listened to her quietly. They had jumped to the last part of the interview because they thought she was an amateur without real talent. Takuto couldn't take her eyes off of her. This song… why this song?

"**Kimochi fukurande yuku bakari de"**  
_My feelings have only been getting stronger._

Mitsuki looked to the judges that looked expressionless. She diverted her gaze to Takuto that looked astonished sat on his chair. When she turned a little to look at him, he broke out of his daze and smiled. She was truly good. He mouthed silently: You-Are-A-Ma-Zing. She smiled and sang louder and with more vivacity her next lines:

"**Kimi wa kono omoi kizuiteiru no ka na"**_  
I wonder... have you realized how I feel?_

"**Ichido mo kotoba ni wa shitenai kedo"**  
_Even though I've never said a word..._

Takuto hide his face in his hands after a moment, tears glistened on his cheeks. Why had she chosen this song?

"**Yuki no you ni tada shizuka ni"**_  
It's like snowflakes drifting... gently..._

"**Furi tsumori tsuzukete yuku"**  
_...continuing to pile higher and higher._

She embraced herself with her arms and sang with a lot of passion:

"**Hold me tight konna omoi nara"**  
_Hold me tight... if this is how it feels..._

"**Dare ka wo suki ni naru kimochi"**_  
The feeling of falling in love with someone..._

She looked over at Takuto while singing those lines. She didn't know why, but they seemed meant only for him to hear, it seemed.

"**Shiritaku nakatta yo"**  
_I never wanted to know that feeling._

"**I love you namida tomaranai**"  
_I love you... I can't stop my tears from falling..._

"**Konnanjya kimi no koto"**  
_In that case, then you..._

She didn't break eye contact with the young man sitting on the chair next to her. The words seemed to slide so easily on her tongue.

"**Shirazu ni ireba yokatta yo"**  
_...should never have come into my life._

Mitsuki turned back to the judges. They were writing down notes and whispering within themselves. One of them looked up at her and asked:

"Why did you chose this song, a song that is considered a legend among the music industry?"

Mitsuki smiled softly.

"This song meant a lot to my mother and my father. My parents died when I was young and this song is really important to me."

Again, the judges whispered between themselves.

"You passed. There will be a third row of audition held next week. Thursday morning at ten. Prepare a small dance routine and we need you to fill these forms. See you next week."

"It's just that Thursday morning I…"

The judges looked up at her. Takuto walked in the conversation.

"There won't be a problem. She'll be there. Come on now Mitsuki."

She looked at him but didn't add anything. What was he planning? At first he was against her singing, now he wanted her to sing. He was so confusing. But didn't Takuto knew that she had a lesson with Wakaouji-sensei Thursday morning… didn't he have a lesson at the university?

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**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**, I really want to improve my writing.


	3. Chapter 2, A Loop in Time

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Author's note:

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction.

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Even though her grandmother hated music, Mitsuki had registered for an audition at SEED Records. She sang Eternal Snow and was selected to pass on to the next round of the audition. But she must prepare a dance routine for Thursday morning while she's supposed to have a lesson with Wakaouji-sensei. When accepting these conditions, Takuto must have already thought of something, hadn't he?

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**Could Be Childish Determination – Chapter II**

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**A Loop In Time**

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Takuto was walking ahead of her, pulling on her arm. He was pulling so much, her arm started to get painful. She held back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes.

"Takuto, you're hurting me."

He continued to walk as fast: they just entered the lobby.

"Takuto, it hurts!"

He turned around sharply. She was biting her lower lips so she wouldn't cry. He let go of her arm, which was almost blue from the lack of blood. He looked around, being careful not to cross her eyes.

"Sorry."

He turned around and started walking again. Mitsuki ran up to him.

"Takuto, how am I going to show up on Thursday? I have a lesson with Wakaouji-sensei."

He didn't answer and kept his pace. That angered the younger girl. She walked even faster and, with all her might, yanked him by his arm so he would face her. He was so surprised by her display of physical strength that he stood still for a moment.

"How, Takuto?"

He sighed and looked to his right.

"I'll find an excuse so you can skip your lesson, okay?"

She didn't seem convinced at all. He threw his arms in the air and shouted:

"It's not my problem! You wanted to sing. I'll make you sing, but take responsibility for it!"

Mitsuki looked up at him and walked away, back to the car. He looked at her walking past him and sighed. He passed a hand in his grey hair.

He drove her back in silence. She got out of the car, muttering a "thank you" under her breath as she closed the door. He answered "goodbye" staring straight ahead. He left only after when she disappeared inside the house.

Mitsuki closed the door behind her. She backed against the door and let a sob escape. Her knees gave out and she fell to the floor. She hide her face in her hands as tears started to fall. She couldn't take this fight. His attitude didn't make any sense. She wiped her eyes with her hand and walked to her bed. She changed into her pyjama and cuddled inside her sheets. She closed her eyes. She was going to ask Wakaouji-sensei for advice tomorrow.

She opened her eyes, bothered by the non-stopping knocking. The sun almost burned her eyes as she tried to shield them while getting up. She looked at her clock: fifteen past eight. Her eyes opened wide: Wakaouji-sensei!

The girl ran to the door and opened it for her beloved teacher that had been knocking for over fifteen minutes outside. The man smiled when the door opened, showing Mitsuki in her pyjama. She bowed all her body really low as she excused her lateness. Her tutor smiled while walking in and taking place on the floor in her small house.

"Hello, Mitsuki. How are you this morning?"

"Wakaouji-sensei, I'm sorry... I... I..."

The teacher laughed softly and her red cheeks and embarrassed look.

"That's alright for today, now go get dress or come sit here so we can start the lesson."

She blushed even more and jumped right in front of her tutor to start the lesson. They started with some old Japanese in which she had some grammar exercises and a reading exercise. Wakaouji Keiichi watched her work, smiling now and then when she chewed on her pencil.

They went through every subject quite swiftly compared to any other day. When Wakaouji Keiichi started to gather all his stuff around noon, he couldn't help but ask her what has been bothering him since the beginning of the day:

"Has something happen with Takuto? You don't seem like yourself today."

Mitsuki looked away.

"Takuto's been an ass."

Like a teacher would, he cringed at her words.

"Mitsuki, please."

She blushed and lowered her head in shame.

"Sorry."

He sighed loudly before adding:

"I wonder where you picked that one off?"

She grinned, showing her nice white teeth, which a dentist would be proud.

"Give him a little time to cool down, then. Takuto has always been a hot head. He'll definitely say sorry in his own way. Don't worry too much, okay?"

"Okay."

Mitsuki answered, not too sure of this. Takuto really did seem angry. What was she going to do for Thursday? She put her pencil in her mouth, chewing the top a little. She should start by asking her teacher: that would be the first step. She sighed quietly.

"Wakaouji-sensei, is that okay if I take Thursday off?"

That wasn't what he was waiting for, it just put even more mystery in what was going on. He sighed.

"Can you tell me the reason?"

Mitsuki's eyes fell on the floor near her knees. She had a hollow expression on her face. Keiichi didn't like that at all.

"Will you tell me someday?"

She looked up at him. He really seemed worried. She smiled sadly.

"It's nothing too serious, Wakaouji-sensei. Don't worry about it. I'll tell you later, okay. I can't right now."

The teacher smiled. If she was willing to tell him, it couldn't be that bad. He got up and walked to the door.

"Okay then, I'll tell your grandmother that I have something on Thursday. But you'll have to study until four next Saturday."

Mitsuki smiled and jumped on her feet to see her tutor out. Things seemed to get better. Now she had to work on that little dance routine that she had to present on Thursday. Wakaouji's car pulled out and she waved back at him. Asking her teacher for advice with Takuto's despicable attitude didn't seem to help at all. She sighed and went to her closet to find her hidden box in which she secretly kept a CD-player and some CDs she had brought while going shopping with Takuto. She put some music on very quietly so she could start to practice some moves without her grandmother finding out. She tried some routines, based on what she'd seen on TV previously, before appearing in the kitchen to eat with her grandmother and swiftly disappearing back in her room.

Hours passed and she wasn't getting anything that seemed to have potential. She was starting to get frustrated and nothing could grow out of that state of mind. She kicked her shoes in one corner of the room and sat angrily on the floor. At this rate, it would take her at least fifty years to be able to create a dance routine that could please those judges.

After a couple of deep breathes, she stood back up and started to elongate her arms while making three quick steps forward. She bended down a little and turned around. Her reflection in the mirror was mimicking her perfectly. She sighed. That wasn't good, it wasn't good at all. Mitsuki went to change the song. She started the same routine again, a little faster. It still didn't look good. She was going to throw her arms in the air out of frustration when some soft knocking came from her outside door. She quickly threw her CD-player underneath her bed with her special box to hide it in case it was her grandmother.

She slammed the door open.

"Hi."

She looked dumbfounded. A guy that was the mirror image of Takuto was standing there in a modern-design green shirt and a pair of blue jeans. She looked him up before accepting this was truly Takuto, the tie-freak. She moved aside to let him in, unable to say anything.

"I came to help you with that dance routine of yours."

He walked in. She slowly took everything she had thrown under her bed back to their original spot, never taking her eyes of Takuto. He watched her retrieving her stuff and walked to the radio-CD-player and put in a disk he had in his jeans pocket. The music started and she looked curiously at Takuto.

"I thought of something. Here look and tell me what you think."

As he said that, he started to move his upper body to the sound of the music. First, the movements were centered on his shoulder and slowly all the body was moving to the rhythm of the music. She was in awe.

Takuto extended his arms, lowering his position while moving forward and then with two quick steps, he was on the side, moving backward. Everything seemed to smoothly alternate with great ease.

The music stopped and Takuto was making his final, an arm in the air and the other arm on the opposite side of his waist. This was his apology. Wakaouji-sensei has been right all along. Mitsuki clapped happily.

"Woaw! That was wonderful, Takuto!"

He smiled at her.

"Would you like to try, I'm putting the music back on and we'll practice this routine in ten separate parts that we'll combine at the end. It will be easier to catch up to and a lot faster."

She went to stand right beside Takuto and followed his movements from his reflection in the mirror. She smiled; their little fight didn't make too much damage. She was truly glad. She was getting the hang of the three first parts and was starting to already be able to follow Takuto fluently during the others. She was learning pretty fast.

After a little while, they started playing around more than practicing: Takuto had started to add some moves randomly and Mitsuki was inventing moves that didn't fit at all into the routine. The song had changed again but they didn't bothered putting it back to the right one. Takuto just took her hand and helped her twirled around before letting go and making his own break-dance move.

They were laughing but froze when they heard the soft knocking at the door. Mitsuki stopped the music and threw her stuff under her bed, hopping they weren't making too much noise. Takuto sat on the floor while Mitsuki went to open the door. Her grandmother stood there with an unreadable expression.

"Won't you let me in, Mitsuki?"

The girl moved aside to let her grandmother in. A smiled graced the lips of the old lady when she noticed Takuto sitting on the floor. She looked at his clothes with a little disdain.

"That must be how young men are clothed nowaday."

Takuto'cheeks reddened very slightly. He never wore casual clothing when he came to see Mitsuki. He always was in some formal clothes.

"Since you are here Takuto-san, why not eat dinner with us, tonight?"

He didn't think it was a good idea tonight. He was in a playful mood and wouldn't have been able to keep up is cool and serious attitude.

"I'm really sorry, Obaa-san. I was thinking of taking Mitsuki out to eat tonight, if that is okay with you?"

The old lady looked at him curiously.

"I know you feel responsible for my granddaughter, Takuto-san. But I don't want you to strain yourself to please her every whims. She's at that age which they want to be more independent. Don't let that concerns you too much."

"It doesn't bother me, Obaa-san. I'm the one who's proposing."

The old woman looked at him again. He hadn't move from his spot on the ground.

"Grandmother, Obaa-san, please! I'd like to go eat with Takuto...-san!"

Mitsuki hadn't forgotten to add the suffix after Takuto's name. In private she only called him Takuto, but when her grandmother was there, she had to use the suffix. It was respect and protocol. Mitsuki had joined her hands and was bent over a little.

"Be it."

The woman walked out with a sigh. Loudly, she added:

"Be home by midnight."

Mitsuki's eyes widened. She never had as long as tonight for a curfew. She closed the door behind her grandmother and walked with a daze look to Takuto. She sat beside him. It took her a moment before she jumped on Takuto, grabbing his neck with a shout of joy.

"Did you hear? Takuto, did you hear? Till midnight!"

He laughed a little at her attitude, but when he took a good look at her face, he couldn't help but laugh harder: she looked like a four-years-old to whom you promised a candy.

"We'll do something until midnight then."

It was like he was redoing their Friday night all over again. She quickly rearranged herself and changed into something that looked a little nicer. She smiled at her reflection in her bathroom mirror.

"I'd like to eat tonight, Mitsuki. Can you hurry a little?"

He shouted through the room and she rolled her eyes. He really acted like a teenager sometimes. She was almost ready so she walked out putting her earrings on. The man looked at her with a bored expression at first and then smiled.

"You look really nice."

He didn't let her enough time to blush as he took her arm and pulled her to the car. He took out his cellphone while buckling himself. Mitsuki looked up at him as he was talking.

"Hey, Hiro. What are you guys doing tonight? Great! I'm bringing Mitsuki along. Where are you? What? Again? Yeah, yeah. See you there."

He hung up and started the car. They were growing closer to the center of the city. The scenery was getting more familiar as they approach the two cherry trees that characterize the Sakura's. Mitsuki smiled. Takuto parked the car and got out. He waited for Mitsuki to come out as well.

"We are going to Sakura's and meet up some of my friends. After that we'll see."

She smiled up at him and wrapped her arm around his. He didn't add anything and just started walking to the restaurant. As they walked in, the sweet fragrance of cherry floated in the air. The waitress asked them their name. Takuto answered they were under the name Onoe, they should have just received a notice of their arrival. After checking quickly, the waitress guided them to the table where Mitsuki recognize Onoe Hiro, Takuto's friend from last time.

"Hi, Onoe-san."

Three heads turned around to meet the newcomers: Onoe Hiro the raven head, a pretty girl with pink curls and a handsome boy with blond hair.

"Hi, Yui-san? Rio-san?"

Mitsuki said very unsure, but the smile on their face reassured her soon enough.

"Please sit here, Mitsuki-chan!"

Hiro was pointing the empty seat next to him. Mitsuki blushed and was about to sit down but Takuto quickly took the place beside Onoe Hiro. He shot a quick glare at his friend before signalling to Mitsuki to sit beside him, away from Hiro.

"You're bad, Takuto. Keeping her all to yourself!"

"I'm not keeping her to myself, I'm keeping her from you."

The others laughed while Mitsuki only look curiously at Onoe Hiro.

"Don't say that as if I'm a player."

Yui Meroko and Rio Izumi laughed even harder. Takuto shot him one last icy glare and Hiro didn't add anything more. Mitsuki learned a lot about Yui Meroko while eating. Yui-san was a very mature girl, truly knowledgeable and witted. They were all studying at the same university. Izumi Rio, it seems he was Yui's boyfriend even though they weren't clear on the matter, wasn't much talkative. She didn't learn much about him, she wasn't even able to size his personality. As for Onoe Hiro, from Yui and Takuto's point of view, he was player that never was serious about anything. Poor guy, he wasn't even trying to defend himself after the glare Takuto had sent him when they sat down.

They talked some more and slowly, Hiro was included in the conversations.

"Do you have something planned afterward, Mitsuki? We could all go to my parent's cottage; they lent it to me for the month. I have the cottage all to myself. It's kind of lonely without friends. What do you think?"

Takuto was about to answer but Mitsuki beat him to it.

"That would be nice, don't you think, Takuto?"

She was smiling really happily. It must have been the first time someone, outside from Takuto and Wakaouji, have invited her somewhere. He knew it wasn't that simple. Hiro always had something up his sleeve, but he couldn't say no. She seemed way too happy. He'd just have to be careful with Hiro around.

"That's great! Takuto, are you coming?"

The man rolled his eyes: what a stupid question.

"Yea."

"Neat! Come on then, some of my friends might already be waiting!"

Takuto sighed. He just knew Hiro was up to something. Hiro got in his car, while Meroko and Izumi got in their and Takuto took Mitsuki with him. He didn't say a word as he grasped the steering wheel. Mitsuki bit her lower lip. Takuto was really angry about something and she didn't understand about what. She lowered her head and look out the passenger's side window.

"We don't have to go, Takuto. Would you have preferred to do something else? Did you have something planned? I'm sorry."

He looked at her and sighed.

"It has nothing to do with that. It's Hiro. Don't get too close to him. As I know him, there will be lots of people there. So stay close to me, okay. I don't want you to get hurt."

He was really gentle as he talked and she blushed at his words.

"Thanks for worrying."

The scenery quickly changed to that of a deep forest when they quitted the city's centre after a little over half an hour of driving. Takuto followed the car before them as it turned in a dirt road and finally stopped in front of Hiro's parents' cottage. It was really nice: all in wood, two stairs with grand balconies. The music was pumping and teens were everywhere.

"Woah! I've never seen so many teenagers together!"

She walked out the car in awe. Takuto smiled. Because of her grandmother, that girl was really missing things out. She didn't have any friends nor did she get out of that house of hers. But because she was socially, hum, delayed, he couldn't let her be by herself in those kinds of place. While he was thinking, he felt the girl wrapping her arms around his. He looked down at her: she was beaming with happiness. Takuto asked her playfully:

"So are we going in?"

"Yes! I'm so nervous."

Takuto laughed softly and squeezed her arm with his other hand to reassure her. She would encounter teens her age for the first time in so many years. It felt like a dream.

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**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**; I really want to improve my writing.


	4. Chapter 3, A Missing Gap

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Author's note:

Haven't updated in three whole years... I feel pretty bad about it... sorry for my lack of commitment toward you, dear readers... I currently working on my very first original story to get it publish... quite a time sucker...

I will try to update once a month... not always this story but at least one of them. Thanks for your comprehension and your patience.

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction.

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After the second round of the audition at SEED Records that Mitsuki passed, she got in an argument with Takuto. He didn't say sorry but came up with a dance routine for the third round as his way of saying so. Since the man was in a playful mood, he took the sixteen year old out with his friends and one thing led to another. Now, they just arrived at Onoe Hiro's cottage.

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**Could Be Childish Determination – Chapter II****I**

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**The Missing Gap**

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The music was pumping loudly. There were teens everywhere. Mitsuki had securely attached her arms around Takuto's. She felt scared as hell. She had never been in an environment with so many reckless teenagers. She didn't know how to act nor how to speak to them. Takuto put his hand on her shaking ones that were holding onto his arm. He smiled at her and invited her to the house. She followed closely, never letting go of his arm.

Takuto entered the cottage without knocking. The music was even louder inside, almost too deafening. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of red as she spotted a couple making out quite violently on one of the sofa.

Onoe Hiro appeared and she felt relieve. He smiled at Takuto and than at Mitsuki.

"You know, Takuto, when you said you had to baby-sat Mitsuki-chan, you made it sound like she was a five year old. But when I looked at her, that body of hers, she looked plenty mature to me. Dear Mitsuki-chan, as Takuto ever touched you in weird ways? Please tell me so I can save you!"

Mitsuki blushed. She thought of their dancing session this afternoon. She was so happy when Takuto had put his hands on her body to show her exactly the movements she seemed to always get wrong. Takuto wasn't please at all with Onoe's comment. He tried to punch him but the red-head easily dodged it.

"Hiro, refrain to make comments like that in front of Mitsuki."

It wasn't a request: it was an order.

"Sorry, mate. I didn't think you would take it to heart. I won't say anymore unnecessary stuff, okay. So stop glaring at me. But that's true, man; you really did make her sound like a toddler. I'm happy to see you caring for someone else than yourself."

"Hiro, refrain any comment at all."

The red-head was waving his hands in pure defence before himself.

"Okay. No more comment. Have fun around then. See you later."

The sixteen year old followed him as he left hastily and spotted Yui Meroko. He was advancing on her. Mitsuki's eyebrows furrowed as she noticed one of his hands on the girl's waist and the other playing in her pink hair, near her ear. She felt confused. This was almost a loving embrace, but wasn't Yui-san the girlfriend of the blond one?

She didn't have much time to ponder the question as Takuto entered the lounge. The blonde guy in question was there, getting it on with a pretty black haired girl. Mitsuki closed her eyes. She didn't like what she was seeing. The teen all looked to be doing adult things: such as drinking, playing with money and making out. But as she looked at them, they all looked pretty much adult. Most of them were over twenty years for sure. Why had she insisted on coming here?

Since she seemed uncomfortable there also, Takuto yanked her to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took out a beer and a can of juice. He handed the juice to Mitsuki without a word. He didn't seem happy to be here, though he acted as if that kind of thing happens quite often. He did come in the house without knocking and took stuff out of the fridge without asking anyone. He hadn't said hi to anyone yet.

Onoe Hiro came into the kitchen and a wide smile grace his lips. His left cheek was red. Takuto snickered at the sight. Hiro must have tried to make a move on Meroko but the girl wasn't as easy. Takuto didn't want to explain the weird relationship the pink-haired girl had with Izumi Rio. Hiro wasn't please with his friend snickering and furrowed his eyebrows before glaring at him.

"Get out of my kitchen, old man."

"Sure, mister player."

Takuto swiftly got out of the kitchen, yanking Mitsuki with him. She was holding onto her drink but took a good look at Takuto. Onoe's comment was playing over in her mind. Takuto wasn't that old, was he? She took a good look around and notice for the first time that the teenagers were all around twenty years old. Were Takuto's friends all near twenty years old? Those guys seemed old, but acted like kids. Were all teenagers like that?

Mitsuki yanked Takuto's shirt. The man looked down to her with a small smile and for the first time it downed on her how much older Takuto really was. He had never seemed old to her. Since Wakaouji Keiichi was an adult in her eyes, she never pictured Takuto as such since he was so much younger. The grey haired man was starting to get irritated of waiting. She had to have something to say to yank his sleeve.

"What is it Mitsuki?"

She was pulled out of her reverie. Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes. He felt bad. He hadn't wanted to make her cry. He hadn't thought he had been that harsh.

"I want to get out of here. Please Takuto. I'm sorry. It's really selfish of me after asking to come here and all. I just really need to get out of here."

He didn't argue. He took her hand and led her out of the house. Onoe Hiro was by the door. He lifted an eyebrow as he saw Takuto and Mitsuki heading for the door. He called after Takuto:

"I didn't mean you had to leave. I thought you knew me better, Takuto."

Takuto stopped and turned around. He sent a small smile his way.

"Do worry. I took it to heart, bimbo-chaser. You won't see me again... tonight!"

Hiro laughed, happy to see he wasn't the reason his friend was leaving. Takuto was in his usual playful mood and that was good.

"Darn, I needed you to look good for the girls. Helping elderly really makes it!"

Onoe Hiro waved to two goodbye and casted them one last look as the car disappear behind the trees.

Mitsuki was holding onto Takuto's hand. She didn't dare to let it go. She had stolen several glances from Takuto. He really was an adult. The veil had finally fallen. Takuto had caught on Mitsuki's weird behaviour.

"What's troubling you, Mitsuki?"

He had his eyes on the road ahead. She breathed in softly.

"How old are you Takuto?"

The question generated some uneasiness and Takuto let go of Mitsuki's hand. That was the one thing he tried to forget when he was with her. It seems fate wanted to make it clear to him the difference that existed between him and her.

"Twenty-eight."

The brown haired girl sighed.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?"

Takuto's eyes were now glaring at the road.

"That's not any of your business, Mitsuki."

Tears swelled up again, because of Takuto's harsh tone. She held them in. Why was she such a crybaby? Why couldn't she help it? She clutched her dress in her small hands and spoke in a well-controlled voice:

"I wanna go karaoke until midnight."

"No way."

She looked up to Takuto's face. He was dead serious.

"I won't sing."

Now he was confused. What was the point of going karaoke then? He sighed and drove them to that place he knew had karaoke rooms. Instead of staying in the lounge area and hear the other singers, Mitsuki went up to the counter and asked for a room for two. The man behind the counter gave them a weird look but complied and showed them to room A-2. The employee closed the door behind them and left the unusual couple alone.

Takuto sat down and looked up at her. What had that girl in mind? She took place beside him and look up to him waiting.

"Why did we come here for?"

Mitsuki close her eyes and breathed out.

"I was starting to believe you wouldn't ask."

He raised an eyebrow and wait for her to continue.

"I want you to sing."

He stood up and glared at her.

"I won't."

"Why?"

"I hate singing."

"No you don't."

She was glaring at him now. Why was she so angry? It wasn't any of her business. Things related to him had nothing to do with her. She was such a child. And at that moment, he really downed on him. He had been aware before but not like this. He wanted her to act like an adult but she was still a child. She was a kid that was asking to be spoilt. But because she was acting like a ground-up so often, she almost couldn't remember how to be spoilt.

It was sad, a very sad reality. His eyes were a lot gentler as he sat back down next to her. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling while answering her previous questions:

"I don't have a girlfriend because I don't feel like it. It's like there is something telling me it's not time yet, in my head. And if I don't want to sing, it is because it is painful to me."

Mitsuki's glare fell on her knees.

"I'd like to hear about it. Your pain, I mean."

He groaned.

"Another time."

"Promise, then."

He looked at her and she was serious. She really was a child. A small sad smile grace his lips.

"I promise I'll tell you another time."

Mistuki started the karaoke machine and chose a song randomly. Anyway, neither of them was going to sing. The song played in the background but the two stayed silent. After a while, Takuto took Mitsuki back home. She went to bed but sleep was hard to find because so many unanswered questions nagged her mind.

The week passed so fast that Wednesday night, Mitsuki was starting to panic. She hadn't heard of Takuto since Saturday. He had said that he would take care of things for Thursday, but as she sees it: he wouldn't come after all. She had to found an excuse to get in the city tomorrow. A soft knock was heard from the door and Mitsuki rapidly made her way to the door to open it.

"Obaa-san."

The old woman glared at her.

"That is no way to salute an elderly, Mitsuki."

"Sorry. Hi, obaa-san."

"Better."

The old woman made her way in Mitsuki's room. She walked around for a while and than sat on her bed.

"Takuto-san just called."

"Why didn't you passed the phone over?"

Mitsuki's cheeks reddened.

"He is going to take you to the museum tomorrow morning."

A smile grace Mitsuki's lips. Takuto hadn't forgotten about her. Her grandmother wasn't finished though:

"It will be the last time. I asked Tatuto-san to stop hanging around you."

Mistuki's smile fell.

"Stop it obaa-san. You know you asked multiple times but Takuto always told you that he won't leave me alone."

"I told him my reasons, and this time he compelled. This will be the last time Mitsuki."

Mitsuki looked at her grandmother's back as she left her room to get back to the main house. Why would Takuto compelled to such an unreasonable demand? What made him changes is mind? Was he tired of her? She couldn't sleep at all and when Takuto appeared at her door in the morning she didn't had the energy to fake a smile. She slumped to the floor and tears began to fall on her cheeks.

"Tell me it's not true. Please Takuto. Tell me obaa-san lied."

He knew what she was talking about and shook his head.

"Obaa-san and I talked it over. It is for the best. I'm too old to be hanging around with you Mitsuki. Please understand. In exchange, your grandmother will let you started high school, so you can make friends your own age. It's not all that bad, Mitsuki."

How could it say it so casually? Didn't it bother him to not be able to see her anymore?

"Will be able to write to each other and I already noticed your grandmother, but I intend to give you a computer as a parting gift. So you'll be able to send me e-mail too. What do you think?"

"I hate it."

He smiled sadly.

"You'll change your mind after starting high school, I'm sure."

He pushed her in the bathroom with clothes and closed the door.

"Now get ready. We have to go if you don't want to be late."

After he said that, he heard to shower turn on. He sighed and let himself glided down the bathroom door. He covered his face with his hands. He hoped he had made the right choice. He wanted her to find happiness, but she wouldn't find it hanging around him.

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**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**; I really want to improve my writing.


	5. Chapter 4, The Past and the Present

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Author's note:

I wanted to say thanks to **AnimeFann88** and **Miko** for their reviews!!

I will try to update once a WEEK... not always this story but at least one of them. Thanks for your comprehension and your patience. I can do that for a while because I had the time to write some chapters in advance!!

Also, just so that people aren't too confuse:

Mitsuki is 16 years old.

Takuto is 28 years old.

Keiichi is 37 years old.

Meroko, Izumi, Hiro and most university students in this story are between 19 and 25 years old.

Mitsuki's friends from school are between 16 and 17 years old.

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction.

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After the second round of the audition at SEED Records, Takuto came up with a dance routine for the third round. He took Mitsuki to a party and it seems something changed in their relationship. Just before the audition, Takuto told her it will be the last time she'll see him, in exchange she's gonna have the right to go to school and make friends.

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**Could Be Childish Determination – Chapter I****V**

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**The Past and the Present**

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Mitsuki was silent even after they reach SEED Records. She wouldn't talk to him. He wouldn't force her to. So they only stayed silent. As she was called by the assistant, she turned around as if to finally say something. Just before opening her mouth, as if remembering the events that occurred just an hour ago, she stuck her tongue at him. He smiled. That was really childish.

She followed the assistant and he showed her to the audition room. There were three rooms, with different judges. She nibbled at her lower lip as she looked at her judges. They seemed pretty harsh. She would have to try extra hard to please them. This was the reason she was here, wasn't it? She was here to try her hardest and go home with her head raised high with pride. She smiled at the serious faces before her.

"Kouyama Mitsuki, isn't it?"

The dark haired girl nodded.

"You can start."

She nodded again and slipped her hand in her pocket to get the CD that contained her song. She blanched as she felt the empty interior of her pants pocket. She frantically felt every corner of her clothes, looking for the important CD, but she couldn't find it.

"What is taking so long, Kouyama-san?"

She looked up sheepishly to see the men's cold glares. She couldn't bear to fail this audition, not for a reason like this. She stood up straight and asked in a firm voice:

"I forgot my CD downstairs. Can I, please, have a moment to retrieve it?

The man in the middle replaced his tie with his fingers, never looking at her.

"Do you think we have that kind of time to spare, Kouyama-san?"

Her smiled fell. He couldn't...

"Does our company seem that trivial to you that anybody can do as one pleases and wastes our time like that? Does it, Kouyama-san?"

She was about to cry. She was trying her hardest not to. She wouldn't let him get to her. He didn't know how hard she worked to get here. That's what she had to prove. She quickly dried her tears with her shirt's sleeve. Her expression was determined again.

"Than, mister judge, do you have a sample I could use?"

That took the man aback. He was waiting for her to cry, not to take it as a challenge. A corner of a smile formed on his lips. He was starting to like that young girl. He made a sign to the assistant and in put a CD in and press "play". The song started to play. It was a little faster then the beat she had practiced on. She was able to do it. She took place in the center and start counting: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

And she started the routine. She made sure to finish all of her movement even though the beat was quite faster. Takuto had explained to her that a fast beat was the worst since the dancers had the tendency to cut through half of the movement and start the next one. She wasn't going to fall for that beginner's mistake, now that she knew about it.

She kept smiling through all of the routine, extending her arms, lowering her position while moving forward and then with two quick steps, standing on the side, moving backward. She made her final, one arm raised, the other on the opposite side of her waist. Her smiled never faltered.

The judges with the tie just discarded her with one swift movement of the hand. The assistant showed her back to the waiting room. She stood in front of Takuto who stayed silent. Now she wanted to cry. And she did. She was crying silently at first but the sobbing was getting louder and louder until she was wailing. Takuto wrapped his arms around her, unable to think of anything better. She tried to push him away but he just held her closer until she stopped squirming. She cried for a while. When she finally started to calm down, she was all alone in the waiting room. The audition had ended a while ago.

Takuto drove her home. She was still crying silently when he walked her to the door. She looked up at him. She felt so utterly alone.

"Can you at least stay until my curfew?"

He smiled sadly.

"Yes."

He walked in the room and she closed the door behind him. The grey haired man sat down against Mitsuki's bed. She slowly walked to him and sat down beside him. She let her head fall on his lap as her tears continued to fall. He started caressing her hair softly.

"You asked me to tell you why singing is painful to me, haven't you?"

He posed but didn't let her time to answer.

"Do you still want to know?"

She didn't lift her head. Was she ready to know the answer? Would she regret it? She closed her eyes tightly. She took in a big breath and opened her eyes again. She looked up to him. At that moment, she knew he was feeling as lonesome as she was. Even if he would denied it if she asked, that look in his eyes couldn't lie.

She couldn't help herself as she rose a little. His eyes were haggard and he didn't seem to sense her coming as her lips softly brushed his. She didn't wait and pressed her lips more firmly on his. She closed her eyes. Was it the feeling of loneliness that drove her to give her first kiss to Takuto? She didn't care. It felt really sweet and butterflies were tickling inside her stomach. But the dream end when Takuto pushed her firmly away.

He had been so surprised that he had been frozen there for a moment. "What the hell?" was all he could think of. When he truly realized what was happening, he pushed her away roughly. The look of hurt he earned from it broke his heart. He didn't know what to do. He had to leave.

"I better leave. Bye, Mitsuki."

He didn't even look back as he closed the door.

Mitsuki didn't move. She looked at the door where he left. She didn't feel angry: she knew he would react that way. She didn't feel sad: at least she had the chance to kiss him before never seeing him again. He had already decided he would erase himself of her life, the idiot. The tears wouldn't fall anymore. She must have cried too much. So she fell asleep, dry tears along her cheeks.

She was up when Wakaouji Keiichi knock on her door. She opened the door with a small sad smile. He couldn't help but ruffled her hair a little. They didn't talk about the fact that she was going to be a school student the week after the next. She studied every subject with attention, never asking for as many breaks as usually. The week passed just like that Friday, sad, quiet and uneventful. Her tutor would pursue a weekly lesson on Saturday morning, to make sure she can keep up with school work. At least, her grandmother hadn't take Wakaouji-sensei from her too.

The first day of school, she woke up early. She took a shower, dried her hair and styled them like the covergirl on the magazine she had bought the other day. She put on her uniform, smoothing the skirt a little. She even thought of wearing make-up but her grandmother wouldn't approve. She went to the main house to eat breakfast. She stood up and was about to leave when she turned around with a smile:

"I'm taking off. Have a nice day, obaa-san."

The old woman nodded and Mitsuki took off. She walked to the bus stop before taking it to school. The school building was way bigger than she had thought. There were so many students. She was starting to feel a little edgy. A pretty girl with shoulder length purplish hair smiled at her:

"Hey, you're new, right?"

"Yes."

The girl was really pretty, so pretty she could be a model.

"My name's Wakamatsu Madoka. What's yours?"

"Kouyama Mitsuki."

"Cute name."

The girl was really nice. She felt less edgy with her around.

"Can I ask you to show me the class 3-B? It's supposed to be my homeroom."

"Then you're in the class across mine. I'm in 3-C."

Wakamatsu Madoka balanced her bag on her shoulder and took her arm casually. She pulled on her arm, almost running to the building.

"If we keep that speed we're going to be late!"

Sure enough, there was nobody around. Inside the building, Madoka led her to the third floor and pushed her in the classroom just before the bell rang. Mitsuki stumbled in and blushed. All the faces were turned to her, observing her.

"You are the new student?"

The girl stood straight as she nodded to the teacher. Her eyes opened wide as she realized who that teacher was.

"Yui-san?"

"Almost right. That would be Yui-sensei. I'm your interim teacher."

The class giggled.

"Can you introduce yourself to the class?"

The new student nodded.

"My name's Kouyama Mitsuki. Because I've had a poor health, this is my first time being in school. Please be nice to me."

Mitsuki bowed low. Some students whispered, others snickered and some didn't even bother. It seemed school was quite foreign to her. She felt like she was out in the wild without any tool and just a short notice. She sat down at an empty desk and smile at the girl to her right. The bleach blond girl just looked away. Life sure was hard.

At least, she knew the teacher. Yui Meroko was nice enough to not pressure her on her first day. Madoka went to meet her on lunch break. They ate together with Madoka's friends outside. One of them was a boy. He was smiling softly while sitting really close to her. His hand even brushed hers when he reached to get some fried eggroll from another girl. He blushed and Mitsuki did the same. Madoka was talking endlessly:

"So I told her: «What about that get-up, then?» And she answered: «It was a gift.» Can you believe it? A gift? It must have been in exchange for a date with that old man that she's always with."

A girl with long light hair answered:

"Yeah, I can't believe she's selling herself like that."

Mitsuki had had enough of that talk. Did they even thought about that girl's feelings?

"I don't understand why a date with an older man is that bad?"

The group all turn their head to Mitsuki. Was that girl stupid or just plain naive? The long haired girl glare at her before answering:

"Kouyama-san you can't be serious?"

"Yes I am. If she likes him, is it so bad?"

The group was silent a moment.

"Because you don't choose who you love, right? Maybe she only wants to be by his side."

Madoka smiled.

"I never thought it like that. And maybe he likes her too and that's why he brought her those clothes. When I think about it, they weren't that outrageous."

The girl with the long black hair stood up. She was glaring at Mitsuki and Arimi.

"A relationship between an old man and a girl is even more disgusting. I don't want to hear anymore of it."

She left without any further notice. Mitsuki glance at her retreating back. Madoka felt the need to explain the reaction of her friend:

"Her father left her mother for a younger girl. That's why Hikari is like that.

Don't mind her."

The brown haired boy that was sitting next to Mitsuki opened his mouth. He had a pretty lovely voice:

"Kouyama-san, you seem to know a lot about relationship."

Mitsuki blushed.

"No, I don't know that much. It's just that I have older friends so I can easily understand how falling in love with one can feel."

"Yeah, you seemed to know Yui-sensei."

Mitsuki nodded.

"I met her because she is a friend of... a friend."

A mischievous smile graced Madoka's lips.

"A friend... an older man? You sure know what you are talking about."

Mitsuki blushed furiously.

"Wakamatsu-san!"

The group started laughing. They were playing around with her. She felt like a part of their group now. They laughed and talked until lunch break was over. Mitsuki went to class first. The pretty boy that had been sitting next to the new girl glared at Madoka.

"That girl is nice. Count me out of your stupid game."

Madoka smiled almost faltered.

"Not now, please, Nachi. We'll talk about it later, okay?"

"No Madoka. I won't let you hurt Kouyama-san. I'll see you after class."

The purplish haired girl stood up and glared at the retreating back of Nachi.

"You are getting soft, Nachi. Are you developing feelings for that girl? Well you better not. You love me. You are my boyfriend and you do as I please!"

Nachi just dismissed her with a hand movement to the side.

She was so mad.

The class started and ended swiftly enough. After class Yui Meroko asked Mitsuki to stay behind for a moment. The dark haired girl went up to the teacher's desk but Meroko waited for the class to be empty before addressing her student.

"Can I call you Mitsuki-san?"

"Yes, Yui-sensei."

"Class has ended, you can call me Meroko."

Mitsuki smiled.

"It seems kinda bad to ask you but... have you seen Takuto?"

Mitsuki arched an eyebrow.

"Not since Thursday, two weeks ago. Why is there something wrong with him?"

Meroko chewed on her lip, she seemed to get desperate.

"Hiro told me he hasn't been coming to class and he doesn't answer his phone. I was wondering if you knew what was wrong with him. He has never been like that before. If not, sorry to drive you into this."

"Takuto isn't himself?"

Mitsuki's expression darkened. Was it because of that kiss?

"Maybe it is because of me."

"What do you mean."

"Takuto made a deal with my grandma to not see me again if I could go to school. And I didn't take it too nicely. Maybe that hurt him."

She didn't need to mention the kiss. Why should she? It wasn't like that was that big of a thing, right? Meroko nodded at her answer but she seemed sceptic.

"That could be it. I think I'm gonna go to his apartment. Maybe I'll found some answer there."

"Could I come with you?"

"I'm sorry Mitsuki. I'm not gonna help you break the deal Takuto made with your grandmother so soon."

She smiled to the girl that looked hurt.

"But that doesn't mean you two won't meet by coincidence, what do you think?"

Meroko added with a wink. Mitsuki smiled again, please with that turn of event.

"Thanks Meroko-san."

The pink-haired woman ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Well I always wanted to have a little sister like you, so I'm going to look after you!"

They laughed and Mitsuki left the classroom. She couldn't wait for the next day of school. She missed Takuto and the man seemed to be acting weird. Mitsuki sighed. Takuto was right: school was fun. But was it truly worth not seeing him again? She didn't think so.

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**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**; I really want to improve my writing.


	6. Chapter 5, The Downsides of Teens' Life

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Author's note:

I got some reviews and I wanted to thank the readers who took the time to do it. Thanks to **Neko Taku-chan**, **AnimeFann88 **and **Miko**!

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction. I don't own Linkin Park's **In the End **or **Crawling**, obviously, even though I really like them.

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After she failed the third round of the audition at SEED Records, she got desperate and kissed the man she loved. It seemed because of that Takuto left without a word and hadn't contact her yet. She started school, where Meroko is her homeroom teacher. She also met Madoka and her friends. Madoka seemed to be a pretty gentle girl on the surface, but maybe she is up to something while she acts like she's protective of Mitsuki.

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**Could Be Ch****ildish Determination – Chapter V**

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**The Downsides of Teens' Life**

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Was school truly worth not seeing Takuto again? She didn't think so.

It was Friday. She was chewing on her pencil, waiting for the old math teacher to finish his tirade on how the hyperbole formula would be used in calculus to calculate the volume of an object. He had been rambling over nothing for the past thirty minutes. She missed Wakaouji-sensei's math courses. The man let her take many breaks and his ways of explaining things were easier to handle. They had already gone over everything that teacher had taught for the past two weeks. She was bored.

Meroko was a really fun teacher, but she wasn't in class on Friday. Since she was only an interim teacher, she still had university classes. Teaching a class seemed to be part of her courses. She would be there until August before returning to university full time.

Mitsuki looked outside and spotted a group having P.E. Lucky bunch! It was Madoka's class. Madoka really seemed like a nice girl. She was followed by the red haired boy that was her boyfriend. Madoka was so lucky: she had a guardian angel hovering near her, keeping an eye out for her at all time. Mitsuki sighed loudly and the teacher called her name. She blushed and sat up straight while he continued his class without further interruption.

When the bell rang, the student swarmed outside; it was Friday after all. Mitsuki walked to the bus stop and waited for a while. It seemed Madoka's boyfriend was living near her house because, everyday he took the same bus at the end of class. She never spotted him in the morning bus though. Maybe he was going to school really early for a club activity or something? She never really talked to him so she didn't know if he even had one. He was listening to some music and softly shaking his head accordingly. He really was a pretty boy. As if feeling her stare, he looked up and smiled at her. She smiled back but didn't say anything. He removed his earphones and lent her one:

"Want to listen to this? It's an American group; you should have heard their last song over the radio. It played quite a lot lately."

She took the earphone he was handing her and even before she had brought it to her ear she could hear to music blaring. It was in English, or so it sounded. She smiled a little. At first it was quite surprising because the singer was shouting and then it suddenly became really soft, getting rougher and rougher with each line. The patterned repeated itself again.

"This one's Crawling. But, maybe this one will be more to your liking?"

He took his ipod from his pants' pocket and changed it to the track he wanted.

"Listen to that one. I'm sure you'll love it."

The piano sounded kind of sad at the beginning and then the singer sang softly, while the mc kept talking to the rhythm of the song. She had to admit the song wasn't bad at all. It had that little something that makes you want to listen to it. As the piano died out, she smiled at the boy.

"You're right, I love it. Come on, the bus is here."

She swiftly got to the door and chose an empty spot. The boy followed her and sat beside her. She smiled and put her bag on the ground just in front of her.

"So who's that group?"

"Linkin Park, the best American band I know."

He declared it with a lot of pride and Mitsuki couldn't help herself but laugh because his enthusiasm was contagious.

"Maybe I'll look for their CD, then."

He nodded his head.

"I can lend you their CDs. I have almost all of them at home. That way, you'll know which one you prefer. What do you think?"

"You're really thoughtful. Nachi, right?"

"Exactly."

There was a pause and Nachi continued talking:

"I wanted to become a singer one day, but it doesn't seem like I have the talent. I was turned down at every audition I tried out."

He sighed loudly, but that got Mitsuki mad.

"If you had really wanted to be a singer, you wouldn't step down just like that. You'd get better and try again."

First, he looked angry and then his expression softened.

"You are right. I'm really just a coward."

Mitsuki shook her head.

"No. But you will be if you step down right now. At least, try it until you are satisfied with yourself. Only then, stepping down wouldn't make you a coward."

Was that girl really sixteen? She was talking like an adult. She continued with a small smile:

"I will do the same."

He looked at her puzzled. She pulled the string that hanged over her left side.

"I want to be a singer too."

The bus slowed a little and then stopped completely. Mitsuki stood up.

"That's my stop. See you next, week."

The girl skipped to the bus' door and got out of the bus swiftly. She waved when the bus took off for the next stop on its circuit. Nachi looked at her with a soft smile: this girl was really worth protecting.

Mitsuki walked home as fast as she could. Even though she had chastised Nachi about his lack of perseverance, she knew she wasn't any better. She hadn't tried anything after her fail audition at SEED records. She should already be looking out for other auditions. If she didn't she would never become a singer like she told Eichi she would. After she told him, her dream seemed so much more concrete. She really wanted to become a singer with all her heart. Would that be enough? She directly went to her room to drop her school stuff and changed out of her uniform. She started some math problems and soon dinner was ready. She finished almost all of her homework; she still had some old Japanese History essay to write after reading the articles her teacher had put together. She put it aside and went to sleep. She thought of Takuto and a tear fell down her cheek. When the light was out and there was no sound, thoughts of Takuto enveloped her mind. She hated the moment that she had to go to sleep because of this. She hadn't had any news from him. Even though he said he would write to her. Even though he wouldn't disappear... tears fell down her cheek even more. Actually, he never mentioned disappearing or not.

It was Saturday morning, at last. She changed into a comfortable set of clothes and brushed her teeth. She went to the main house to grab a toast with some peanut butter. Her grandmother eyes her the whole time with a disapproving look on her face. Mitsuki ignored her. She didn't feel like eating a real breakfast. Anyway, Wakaouji-sensei had told her he would take her out to lunch if she did good in their studying session.

She swiftly went back to her room and got the History papers out, to read it until her tutor arrived. Two soft knocks and she opened the door. Wakaouji Keiichi smiled when he saw the History paper spread across the floor.

"Working hard, Mitsuki?"

The girl snorted.

"That History teacher is evil. I don't even understand the assignment."

Her tutor raised an eyebrow.

"Then why didn't you ask for more details?"

She sighed, defeated.

"Because I didn't know I didn't understand until now. I'm sure he did it on purpose."

Wakaouji Keiichi laughed softly.

"Mitsuki, teachers aren't evil."

He took the assignment and started to look through it swiftly. A sweat drop fell on the side of his forehead.

"Okay... this teacher is evil. How could he just throw something like this without explaining it thoroughly before hand? Come here, I'll explain it to you."

Keiichi sat down and she sat near her. He started by pointing the important part of the questions in the assignment and then they went through one of the articles and highlighted every details concerning the major points. He let her go through the other texts while he looked at her other homework. She was doing pretty good it seemed. At break time, Mitsuki went to get a deck of cards in his cartable and pleaded him to play poker. He smiled. He took the deck, shuffled it and passed them two cards each. He burned one to the side and put three other cards face-up between them.

"What the hell is that?"

"Mitsuki be wary of your language."

She smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry."

She then looked at the two cards in her hands and at the three cards on the floor.

"But that isn't poker, Wakaouji-sensei."

He smiled.

"Yes, it is. This is Texas hold'em. It's another version of the poker game you love so much."

She nodded curious.

"You have to make a set using the cards in your hands and/or the ones on the floor. Put your cards to the ground."

He did exactly the same thing. She had a two and four of spade while he had two kings. He obviously won. She nibbled at her lower lip.

"With this set I win, because I have a pair of kings which is stronger than a pair of twos."

"What pair of twos?"

He smiled as he showed her the two of hearts on the floor in between them. There was also a three and a seven of spade.

"Oh. So we use those."

"Yes. After the three cards are revealed, you have to bet. You can stay in or drop out. I suggest you to stay in."

The girl nodded and Keiichi continued his explanation:

"Then the dealer burns a card and adds one here."

He put a fourth card with the ones in between them. It was a jack of hearts.

"Here we bet again. So are you still in?"

She nodded vigorously.

"I burn another card and put the last one here. It's the river. That will be last chance we have to make a better set."

He unveiled the eight of spade. Mitsuki's face fell.

"I lose, I got nothing."

He shook his head.

"No, look closely Mitsuki."

She spotted her set and smiled widely:

"A flush! I have a flush! I love this game."

Wakaouji Keiichi laughed. They played a couple of games, until she got the hang of it and then, they were back to their tutoring session. Her History essay was finished and they got over some English grammar exercises. At one point, Mitsuki looked up and stared at her teacher.

"A friend made me listen to a band that sings in English. I'd really like to know what they are singing about, because sometimes they sing so fast. Do you think you could help me translate it next time, Wakaouji-sensei?"

"Sure. But you gotta finish this first. It's almost noon. It you want to eat out you better concentrate."

"Yes!"

She finished her exercises quickly. She went to notify her grandmother that she was leaving and they drove to a restaurant nearby. She saw the big cherry trees in front of a small reddish restaurant and pointed it out to her tutor.

"This one is called the Sakura's. The food there is good."

"When did you go there? The food is pretty expensive."

"I didn't know. Takuto brought me here two times."

Keiichi looked down at Mitsuki for a second before bringing back his attention to the road ahead of him. Takuto had brought her there? Why would he bring Mitsuki to that kind of expensive and high class restaurant? It was easy enough to see that the girl had a crush on Takuto. What was he thinking by bringing the girl there? Was he playing with her infatuation for him or was he simply too dumb to notice? He had to talk to Takuto tonight.

"What do you think of this one? It's not as high class as the Sakura's but the chicken here is delicious."

Mitsuki smiled. She was really happy. They ate and Wakaouji Keiichi brought her back home. Just as she was about to get out of the car, the driver stopped her:

"I have something for you. It's from Takuto. He seemed pretty busy, because he asked me to deliver it to you. Open it."

Her finger glided over the brown box and she opened it. It was a laptop. She couldn't help the tears that started falling. He didn't even come to deliver it himself? He really didn't want to see her again. She felt the pain stabbed her chest. She closed the box and tried to smile to her tutor and friend. Her voice was not more than a whisper:

"Thank you, Wakaouji-sensei."

She then left the car and got to her room, waving quickly at her grandmother. She entered her room and closed the door behind her. She couldn't face any of them right now. She glared through watery eyes at the box that she didn't dare to get ride of.

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**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**; I really want to improve my writing.


	7. Chapter 6, Adults' Life Isn't Any Better

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Author's note:

We'll finally know what is going on in Takuto's head. I hope it'll bring some light on Takuto's actions through out the story. This chapter is darker than what I usually write.

I also want to thanks the reviewers!! Thanks to **Miko**, **nekoTaku-chan** and **AnimeFann88**!

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction.

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Takuto had disappeared for a month and an half now. Mitsuki misses him. She makes friend at school, especially Madoka and Nachi who also wants to become a singer. After her Saturday tutoring session, Wakaouji Keiichi gives her a box. She opened it to find the computer that Takuto had promised her. She is angry and sad because Takuto asked Keiichi to deliver it instead of giving it to her himself. Mitsuki felt betrayed.

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**Could Be Ch****ildish Determination – Chapter VI**

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**Adults****' Life Isn't Any Better**

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She was inside her room; the door was closed behind her. She clutched the box to her like it was the very source of her life though she was glaring at it with as much intensity. She heard Wakaouji's car leave the driveway. Only then, did she let herself stumble to the floor crying, still glaring at the box that contained the laptop. After dinner, she finally gathered enough willpower to open the box. She took out the computer and plugged it. She then lifted the cover and pressed the "power" button. The computer started up slowly. Some icons appeared in the left, upper corner of the desktop. She was used to those because she had seen them before. There was a foreign one though, just beside the "trash can". The icon was titled: "please read me!" She double-clicked on it and a white box opened. It was a message, a message from Takuto.

"_Hi Mitsuki,_

_I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry I __couldn'__t deliver the computer directly_

_to you but I have a hard time with __exams right now. I also had to keep_

_my part of the bargain. That is why __I asked Keiichi. This is your brand_

_new computer. With this, we will __still be able to communicate__ without_

_breaking any rules. You__ should __have access to a Wi-Fi__ network_

_from where you are. Try__ to connect __yourself to internet. I__ have also_

_installed a chat__ software, try it out __and create__ yourself an e-mail address._

_Mine__ is negi-ramen__._

_Please __add me as a friend and write __me soon._

_With love,_

_Takuto."_

She couldn't help but think "liar". It repeated itself in her mind but she fought the tears. She did as she was told and created herself an e-mail address. She added him. But he seemed to be offline. The thought that he would always stay offline crossed her mind and her muscles tightened. She relaxed when she realized there was no point in doing that with the note he sent with the computer. It wouldn't make sense. She decided to wait a while. She played some mini-games for a while but quickly got tired of it. Takuto still hadn't connected. She closed the computer and went to sleep.

He didn't connect himself Sunday either.

Monday she collected the e-mail addresses of her friends, Madoka, Hikari and Nachi. She also collected the addresses from some girls in her class. She added them all that night. She chatted for a little while with some of them and with Nachi, most. It was getting late and Mitsuki was getting tired of waiting for Takuto to connect. She was about to close the computer when his icon turned green. A window opened with "_Negi-Ramen says: **Hey**_" written in blue. She thought of closing the laptop, to avenge the fact she waited all this time. Finally, she decided against it. Even if making him wait as much as she waited sounded like a rightful thing to do, she couldn't just close it without saying anything to him first. She didn't know if she was happy or not he was there. She didn't know anymore. She had hope for three whole days for this moment and she didn't know what to do. She read his message one more time and taped an answer.

_-Fullmoon says:** hey**_

_-Negi-Ramen says: **So you like the laptop?**_

What was that question after disappearing for a week...

_-Fullmoon says: **yeah**_

_-Negi-Ramen says: **How's school?**_

_-Fullmoon says: **good**_

_-Negi-Ramen says: **You're not really talkative tonight. Are you feeling alright?**_

She was getting angry at the screen. Was he an idiot? How could he ask that? Tears were falling on her cheeks.

_-Fullmoon says: **it doesn't matter**_

_-Negi-Ramen says: **Mitsuki what's wrong?**_

_-Fullmoon says: **you really are an idiot**_

_=**i hate you**_

_=**how can you be so insensitive after leaving me like that?**_

_-Negi-Ramen says: **Stop this nonsense Mitsuki**_

_=**It was an impulse of the moment, that's all it was**_

_=**It was cause by your sadness and your need to be comforted**_

_=**Please refrain from referring to it from now on**_

She was crying loudly now. He really was an idiot. She wiped her tears with her shirt's sleeve.

_-Fullmoon says: **i'm not feeling well, i'm going to sleep, bye**_

With that she disconnected and closed her computer. Why was Takuto acting this way? She crawled into bed and cuddled inside the sheets. She really hated him.

In his room, Takuto was looking at the screen where the window flashed the message: "Fullmoon has disconnected". He glided his hands through his shoulder length gray hair. Everything was so messed up. It was true he had been busy with the preparations to his exams. It was also true he couldn't bare the thought of facing her. He knew he had hurt her, but it was for her own good. He needed her to distance herself from him.

He had a talk with her grandmother when he first came back from America after he found her at the orphanage. First, he hadn't recognized the girl. She was so different from his memory. She had grown so much. She was a young lady after all. He froze when she threw herself in his arms. It didn't feel real. He was afraid he would wake up if he dared to move. Mitsuki's grandmother had advised him of her health. He hadn't forgotten any words of it. The old lady was really concerned for her granddaughter.

She had asked him not to say anything to Mitsuki though.

Takuto had kept his words. Mitsuki's health wasn't as bad now. Even though she could go to school and have friends her own age, the old lady was afraid of a mishap. What if Mitsuki had a relapse? Takuto couldn't find an answer that would make it sound less awful.

The old lady was also starting to be aware of her granddaughter's feelings for him. Over two months ago, she had confronted the young man about it. He acted as if he wasn't aware of it. It had been a lie. He had known, but just couldn't tell the old lady. At that time, she had asked him to stop seeing her daughter because she didn't want those feelings to grow. Mitsuki was too young for that kind of feelings and Takuto was way too old for her anyway. The gray haired man couldn't accept it. Instead, he promised to disregard her feelings as nothing but a crush and to make sure it wouldn't get passed that.

He wasn't able to keep his promise. It seemed that, even with all his effort, her feelings for him were becoming stronger and stronger. It was getting harder and harder to not respond to them. Even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he had feelings for the girl. But it was wrong.

That was the reason he came up with that deal with her grandmother. That way, she could go to school. She could make friends her own age. She even could find a boyfriend. He bit his lips at the last thought.

Two soft knocked resonated against the door. Takuto went to answer and was surprised to find Wakaouji Keiichi.

"Keiichi? What is bringing you here?"

"I've been calling you for the past two days. You don't answer."

Takuto looked at the unplugged phone without any remorse. Keiichi entered the small apartment. His voice rang, strong and furious:

"Are you an idiot or are you just simply dumb, Takuto?"

That took him by surprise.

"Hum, wh... what?"

Keiichi pointed an accusing finger at him while whispering in a dangerously low voice:

"Didn't you notice at all, Takuto? Didn't you notice her feelings for you?"

The gray haired man eyes became focus and serious. Now he understood what his friend was talking about. His brows were deeply furrowed.

"I don't need you to butt in my business..."

He couldn't finish as Keiichi had punched him on the jaw. The older man shook his hand before nursing his knuckles. Takuto didn't move from his spot on the floor. He held his head low, his bangs mostly covering his eyes. Keiichi approached him and lowered himself so he could sit on his heels.

"What has gone through your head, Takuto?"

From this angle, he could see the swelling getting worst and blood dripping out of his nose and mouth. He could also see the moist skin of his cheek. Was Takuto crying?

"I... don't know..."

He covered a part of his face with his hand. Keiichi didn't move: Takuto seemed to have more to say.

"I don't know... what to do anymore... she... she won't..."

That's when Keiichi realized Takuto's appearance was totally wrong. The guy looked messed up. His hair was all over the place, instead of tied in his usual ponytail. He mustn't have shaved in at least a week and surely didn't bath today since his shirt was crumpled and dirty. He couldn't help but whispered:

"Takuto, what happened to you?"

The gray haired man looked up to him. He seemed completely helpless. The reason finally dawned on Keiichi: Takuto was infatuated with Mitsuki. That explained so many, many little things. That explained why he spent most of his free time with the teenager. That explained why he maintained that barrier around everyone and how it crumbled as soon as the girl was near. That explained why he was still here instead of back in America where medicine was much more advanced. That explained the situation here: the deal and how it affected him. He had heard most of the details from Mitsuki already. Keiichi looked at the man lying on the floor: Takuto, in what kind of bottomless pit had you fallen to let it get to you like that? Even though Keiichi knew that one's can't control his feelings, he slipped an angry hand in his short brown hair.

"That's wrong Takuto. This is really, really wrong. You know that, don't you?"

Takuto didn't answer. He didn't need an older man to tell him how much his feelings were wrong. He knew that already. When it dawned on him how he might so easily destroy that girl's life, he tried to distance himself from her. He missed her like hell. Ever since he came back to Japan and had met her in front of the orphanage, he hadn't been able to stay away from her. Keiichi looked at him; he was desperate to find a solution for his friend.

"Takuto..."

Takuto's voice was breathy and really low, a murmur:

"I took care of it. She won't have any feelings for me anymore. Don't worry, Keiichi."

Keiichi's eyes grew wide from fear. He felt it might be something that could destroy the girl at this point on. He hoped it wasn't, because Mitsuki was a frail and weak girl. She wouldn't get back to her feet that easily. She could wear the scar forever. Keiichi didn't even try to hide how furious he was.

"What did you do?"

"I made it right."

Keiichi caught Takuto's collar in his fists. He lifted his upper body off the ground and shook him a little under the influence of the anger. He was shouting:

"Takuto, what the hell did you do?"

That's when the older man noticed the screen of the computer as the blue light reflected on Takuto's moist cheek. He let go of the gray haired man. Takuto dropped back on the floor and Keiichi ran to the computer screen. He read the conversation, not caring he was intruding Takuto's private life. He hated what he read. He clenched his fists. He slowly turned to face the man that was lying on the floor, his face swelled in a deep purple color.

"What happened that time, Takuto?"

Keiichi wasn't sure if Takuto was laughing or crying. Maybe he was whimpering. The sound was foreign to him. Takuto's voice was too soft and Keiichi couldn't hear what he said.

"I didn't hear, Takuto."

"...kiss me..."

Keiichi already felt relief. At least Takuto hadn't touched the girl. For a second there, he feared for the worst. Keiichi fell to the ground with a sigh. He looked at the ceiling for a long while in silence. More than an hour passed. Keiichi finally opened his mouth. He asked without looking at his friend:

"Takuto?"

The gray haired man didn't move. He answered in an almost steady voice:

"Yeah?"

"Did you think about it at one point, of being with Mitsuki, I mean?"

Takuto took the time to think it through. Had he thought about it?

"Yeah."

The two men didn't move.

"What stopped you?"

Takuto sighed.

"I'm wrong for her."

"I know."

That brought pain to his heart. Having his best friend compelling so easily to the fact he was wrong to the girl was something harsh. He licked his lips, and it tasted awful because of the dry blood. Keiichi continued:

"But why did that stop you?"

That caught Takuto's attention. He raised his head and looked directly at Keiichi. The answer was so obvious for him.

"Because, I want the best for her."

Takuto paused for a moment looking at the floor and took a deep breath before continuing:

"I want her to fall in love with a guy her age. I want her to act like a spoiled teenager. I want her to have a normal, happy life. When she's with me, she's stared at with disdainful eyes. I can't take it anymore."

Keiichi felt a little ashamed of himself. He looked to the floor and sighed.

"And you think you are wrong for her? I can't tell anymore."

Takuto looked back up at Keiichi.

"I'm twelve years her senior..."

"Yeah, I know."

"What more do you need, to see that I'm wrong for her?"

"You really love her Takuto... it's not just an infatuation... that's why, I can't tell anymore."

Takuto went back to looking at the ceiling from his lying position on the floor.

"What should I do Keiichi?"

His older friend stood up and smoothed his pants and shirt.

"That's not mine to decide, Takuto. But if I were you, I'd start with a shower."

Takuto smiled a little. It was a grotesque kind of grimace because of the swelling on the left side of his face.

"You better carefully think about it. With each word you say, you could lose Mitsuki forever. Be wary of that. Well I'll call you, so you better connect back your phone. Please take care of yourself, Takuto."

The gray haired man nodded and rose himself softly against the wall before murmuring a small "see you". Then Keiichi disappeared on the other side of the door. Takuto let himself slide down against the floor again and sighed loudly. Could he really have the right to be with Mitsuki? Could he make her happy? He didn't know. Would he try? He wasn't sure.

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**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**; I really want to improve my writing.


	8. Chapter 7, An Invitation From Madoka

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Author's note:

I will try to update once a month... not always this story but at least one of them. Thanks for your comprehension and your patience.

**Is it wrong to love someone with a big age difference? Since her parents' death, little Mitsuki had been living at the orphanage. There, her father's band mates visited her frequently until the day her grandmother took her in. After that, Takuto went missing. A couple of years later, he reappeared, passing over a line that he didn't want to cross.**

**This is a story about the hardships of love and how a small girl overcomes it with lots of determination.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Full moon wo sagashite. I'm not making any money out of this. I'm just borrowing the characters and some part of the storyline to write a fanfiction. I don't own Yui's **Tomorrow's way**, obviously. It's a **free-translation** of her song so it might sound literally wrong. I had to adapt the lyrics so it would flow easier while singing.

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Time passed and Mitsuki adapted to the school where Meroko is teaching. She has friends: Madoka and Nachi. Or so she thought. Madoka seemed to have something up her sleeve and Nachi is against it. And it seemed Takuto was still acting weird even after his talk with Keiichi. He still doesn't contact anyone and no one is able to contact him. Will he be alright?

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**Could Be Ch****ildish Determination – Chapter VII**

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**An Invitation from Madoka**

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Mitsuki hadn't heard from Takuto in a while and the last time didn't go that well. She felt lonesome and sad. She needed to find something to take her mind away from Takuto, to light up her mood.

"Kouyama-san!"

Mitsuki blushed. She had been caught up in her thoughts. She looked at Madoka who seemed mad at her for ignoring her until now.

"Sorry Wakamatsu-san. You were saying?"

"There's this guy I met at a Goukon the other day. He is a university student. He e-mailed me this morning to tell me that there's a party at the beach tomorrow night. I didn't want to go alone. Want to come with me?"

Mitsuki took a second to think about it, but really, this wasn't hers to decide.

"I need to ask my grandmother first. But it sounds nice."

Madoka rolled her eyes. What was that about asking her grandmother? Couldn't that girl decided anything on her own? She smiled sweetly at her dark haired friend.

"Okay. Be sure to persuade her, because that kind of invitation won't come around another time if we don't show up."

Mitsuki nodded. Nachi looked up at Madoka. He hoped she wasn't up to one of her stupid ideas to use the new girl. The month had passed by without any incident. Tomorrow was Friday. He was leaving for the week-end and wouldn't be able to be there to protect the poor naive girl. He clenched his fist and glared at his food. Madoka had planned this well.

Hikari was brushing her hair. She looked up at the group and sighed:

"But I still don't understand why you took that guy's phone number, Madoka. He wasn't your style at all."

"Simply because, he is a university student, Hikari. And he knows other university students. Don't you get the picture?"

"I don't see what's the big deal with university students. They are older than us. It's weird." Hikari said, taking off were the argument was left the last time.

"Whatever you say, Hikari. I didn't ask you to come anyway." Madoka said visciously.

Mitsuki started nibbling at her lower lip. She didn't like how the discussion was turning.

"I have a date tomorrow. I wouldn't have come anyway." The black haired girl declared.

The girls were glaring at each other. Mitsuki stood up and spoke really quickly:

"Please. We shouldn't fight over this. Isn't a party a joyous occasion?"

Hikari turned her cold glare to Mitsuki before sneering at her:

"I didn't ask you anything. Butt out of our business. No, I have something even better: butt out of our lives. You only have been a nuisance since you came to this school."

Hikari stood up and walked away with a look of disgust on her face. The dark haired girl couldn't help but feel self conscious about what Hikari just said. Was her presence here really that troublesome? Madoka put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't listen to her, Kouyama-san. She's having a hard week and is stressing over a lot of complicated things. She's just canalizing her anger at you for some reason. Maybe it's my fault: I haven't been paying a lot of attention to her lately."

"No Wakamatsu-san. You shouldn't think like that." Mitsuki said quickly with a sad expression.

Madoka smiled before saying with a light voice:

"We better go back to class or we'll be late."

The dark haired girl nodded. She followed her group but as she was about to enter the classroom, a firm grip on her shoulder stopped her. It was Nachi.

"Be careful around Madoka." He said.

"What?"

"Just be careful." He added quickly.

Then he swiftly disappeared in his classroom. Mitsuki blinked. What was that all about? She entered her own classroom and sat at the desk just before the math teacher came in. She sighed. How was she going to convince her grandma to let her go a university students' beach's party?

Later that night, after washing the dishes, even though she didn't feel ready, Mitsuki had decided to ask her grandmother. She wasn't feeling ready at all but it was now or never.

"Obaa-san?" She said with a tentative voice.

"What is it, Mitsuki?" Her grandma responded without much emotion.

"I was invited by a friend from another class to a party, after school tomorrow. Is that alright if I go?"

She didn't put much information in her demand, hoping it gave her more chances for a positive response. Too many details would only give her grandmother that many reasons to refuse. The old woman looked at her as if judging the demand; it was a good sign. The grandmother was surprised to say the least. It had only been a month and her granddaughter had already made friends? Those were such good news. She had been afraid her granddaughter wouldn't be able to adapt to that foreign environment, but it seemed she had been wrong. Mitsuki was really amazing. The old woman couldn't found the strength to say no to such a genuine demand.

"I don't see any problem if you are home by half past eleven. Don't forget you have a session with Wakaouji-sensei Saturday morning."

Mitsuki's face lit up.

"Thanks, obaa-san!" The young girl said excitedly.

She went to bed early and woke up way too early. Hiding a yawn with her left hand, she walked to the bus station anyway. The school grounds were almost empty when she arrived. Some teachers were smoking in a corner before school officially started. Mitsuki went up to her classroom. She was delighted to find Yui Meroko there.

"Meroko-san! I'm going to a party tonight! Can you believe it?" She said to the woman she considered a friend.

The pink-haired woman smiled.

"Is that why you couldn't sleep and came to class this early?" Meroko teased with a smile.

"Yeah. I went to bed way too early yesterday." The girl explained while blushing sheepishly.

She threw her bag on her desk and spun around with energy. She had already forgotten Meroko's teasing words.

"Can you believe it's my first time being invited to a beach party? This is so awesome!" Mitsuki shouted happily.

Meroko looked up with a smile.

"Want me to drive you there? I'm supposed to go too."

"That would be awesome, Meroko-san! Can you take one of my friends along?"

"Sure!"

This day was turning out so great. She couldn't wait to tell Wakamatsu Madoka of this. With that thought, some students started entering the classroom, chatting happily between themselves. Class passed by so swiftly.

At lunch break, Mitsuki told Madoka the good news. Madoka was quite please with the fact that the dark haired new girl could come, but she thought it was lame to get there in a teacher's car. She couldn't help it though since Mitsuki had already accepted the invitation. Nachi seemed please with this development. At least someone would be able to keep an eye on Mitsuki while he was not around. Hikari didn't show up for lunch to Mitsuki's dismay. She wanted to apologize or something and make peace with the girl.

When class finally ended, Mitsuki waited for Meroko at the school entrance. When the pink haired woman showed up, the dark haired girl explained the situation:

"Madoka needed to go home to change. Is that okay if we picked her up at the station?"

"Sure, I thought it would be something like this. Did you bring a change of clothes?"

Mitsuki smiled as she showed it proudly to Meroko.

"Well you have a decent taste for shirt, but the skirt is a "no-no". Come with me, I have to get home anyway. I think I have something nice in my old clothes."

Mitsuki nodded. She followed Meroko to her car and sat in the passenger's seat. Meroko started the engine and the music system started blaring some song way too loudly. The driver instinctively lowered the volume and skipped it to the third track. A soft music started to play. Mitsuki looked up at Meroko. The pink haired girl had decent taste in music from Mitsuki's point of view. The younger girl listened to the song for a minute before stating:

"This song is full of feelings... I love the purity of her voice and the sober acoustic feeling."

"Yes. It's one of my favourite songs ever."

Mitsuki closed her eyes and listened to the song. She wanted to become a singer that could sing songs like this one. The song ended after three short minutes and another one started. It was an instrumental one.

"We're here." The grown-up announced proudly.

The girl looked in awe at the apartment building. It was huge and lovely with all the flowers and the trees. Meroko quickly led her to her apartment. There she handed Mitsuki some really short shorts. The young woman also dressed up and reviewed her make-up.

"Want to put some make-up on?" She asked the younger girl with a smile.

Mitsuki looked at her incredulously. Meroko just smiled wide, motioning for her to come closer.

"Come here. Whatever what some may have told you, this is not poison. I'm gonna do your make-up tonight. If you like it, I'll teach you."

It took a couple of minutes as the pink haired woman skilfully outlined her eyes and brushed some golden eye shadow over her eyelid. Meroko also applied some gloss on her lips to make them shiny. When Mitsuki was told to open her eyes she almost didn't recognise herself. Her reflection in the mirror was so pretty that she almost couldn't believe it.

"You'll have to teach me for sure, Meroko-san." The girl said without taking time to breathe.

"Stop it with the –san, it's starting to get a little embarrassing. Aren't we almost like sisters?" The woman said with a wink.

"Yes, Meroko."

"There, that sounded way better. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes!" Mitsuki exclaimed with bliss.

"Good because we have to leave now if you want to be on time to get your friend." Meroko explained as they got out of the apartment building.

They left to pick Madoka up and then headed for the beach. Madoka was surprised to see Mitsuki looking so... so incredible! Wasn't that girl not used to party and stuff. That must have been the work of that stupid teacher. She had to admit the teacher looked gorgeous too. What was with girls these days? She had thought of outshining Mitsuki at that party, but that would be harder than she had first thought. No words were exchanged after the greetings, but the smile never left Mitsuki's face. When they arrived at the beach, Meroko parked the car swiftly and the girls got out of the car.

"Hey! Meroko-love!" A voice shouted in the distance.

Meroko glared at the raven haired idiot that was coming their way.

"Shut up Hiro. I don't have time to mess with you right now." The annoyed woman replied.

The man advanced anyway and spotted Mitsuki beside the pink haired lady. He couldn't believe the little Mitsuki was looking so gorgeous and womanly before him at that precise moment. He looked around swiftly, sure to find Takuto but he didn't spot him anywhere.

"Mitsuki-chan, you are such a pleasant sight as always. What are you doing around here without your shining knight?" Hiro asked with curiosity.

The dark haired girl chewed on her lower lips. The guy must not have heard of the deal. The expression on the girl's face saddened in an instant. When the expression on the girl's face fell, Onoe Hiro felt bad about it. Again, he must have said something he shouldn't have. It was so like him.

"Hey, Mitsuki-chan, don't make that face. I'm happy to see you, you know?" He tried with a smile.

His blabbering was answered with a small smile of her own.

"It's nice to see you too, Onoe-san." Mitsuki greeted faintly.

"Call me Hiro. We are friends, aren't we?" He stated with a wink.

"Sure."

Hiro spotted the purplish haired girl. Madoka was brewing darkness in the corner, since no one was paying attention to her.

"Who's your friend?" The black haired man asked with interest.

"Madoka, this is Onoe Hiro. Hiro, Wakamatsu Madoka." Mitsuki presented with a blush.

She had totally forgotten Madoka. The poor girl must have feel lonely by herself. Mitsuki felt bad about it. She must be the worst kind of friend to completely forget about her presence. Hiro smiled and extended a hand to the new girl. It was cleared that the man was more than interested. Madoka smiled sweetly.

"Please to meet you." She said flirtatiously.

"Mitsuki-chan, you really have lovely friends."

Meroko rolled her eyes in exasperation at his easily guessable response. This was Onoe Hiro for you. They started walking to where the bonfire was lightening the beach. A cold blond man joined them, well more like he attached himself to Meroko. Madoka spotted the young man who had invited her to the party in the crowd. She pulled on Mitsuki's wrist to get her away from her happy little group of friends. Madoka smiled sweetly at her friend while pulling her along, explaining to her:

"We have to at least greet him since he is the one who invited us in the first place, don't you think?"

The dark haired girl nodded, waving goodbye to her friends. They approached a larger group. Madoka tapped softly on the shoulder of a light haired man. He turned around and smiled at the purplish haired beauty.

"Hello Sakurai-san!" Madoka greeted.

"So you were able to make it, Wakamatsu-san. I'm glad." The young man said.

His eyes slipped to the pretty dark-haired girl behind her. Automatically, his eyes grew wide. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be.

"Mitsuki?" He asked tentatively.

That's when she recognized the man that was standing before her. Her eyes watered as she stammered:

"Eichi. Eichi... Ei... chi..."

She was crying as she threw herself in his open arms. Madoka was getting furious by now. She was supposed to outshine the girl. She was supposed to make Mitsuki understand how great she was. What was with that girl? Did she know every damn people in Japan? Not just Japan, that guy was from America. He was studying abroad, here in Japan, for university. The more she learned about Mitsuki, the more she felt like she had to destroy that girl. She walked away before doing something that could ruin her public image.

"Eichi, I missed you so much since you've left." Mitsuki murmured.

He squeezed the girl tightly in his arms and buried his face in her hair.

"I missed you too. I thought I had lost you forever when I stopped receiving your letters. And a couple of months ago, I went to look up your new addresses at the old orphanage and found it all worn down. I was getting desperate. I'm so glad you're here." Eichi said with sincerity.

He was caressing her hair. He didn't care about his stupid friends' catcalls or even their laughing. Everything felt so right now that Mitsuki was back in his arms. He took her hand and led her to one of the made-up bench near the bonfire.

"Did you keep on singing?" He asked.

Mitsuki's smile faltered.

"I couldn't. My grandmother wouldn't allow it. I still love it as much though." She answered with sadness evident in her voice.

"Want to sing something only for me."

The girl blushed.

"Okay." She accepted.

Without adding anything, Sakurai Eichi stood up and went to a guy that was standing alone playing on his guitar. The man handed him the guitar and Eichi came back to her, almost running.

"I've learn how to play the guitar in America. So is that okay if I accompanied you?" He asked even though he already had gotten the guitar.

"Sure." Mitsuki answered politely with a small smile. "Did you ever hear that song? It goes like this."

She started humming the chorus softly.

"Yes. It's playing over the radio a lot nowadays." He answered, starting to play the guitar.

Mitsuki smiled widened. It was it. It really was it. That was the song.

"Just play it a little bit more slowly, please." She asked.

"Like this?"

"That's good." She stated and closed her eyes.

She started singing really softly:

"**Feels like I ****want to destroy this moment**

**It feels like I want to cling to it forever**

**It feels like I do not know myself anymore"**

She opened her eyes and looked straight into Eichi's.

"**If I follow all of my shattered memories**

**Maybe I can return to that innocent time**

**Like a small**** boy in another life"**

Some people had silence themselves to listen to the young singer. The feelings were so strong that her voice was vibrating. She hadn't notice the volume of her voice had grown as she was too engross in the feelings she shared with those peculiar lyrics.

"**I was born to make it true and live up to**** that world**

**That beautiful universe I imagined as a child**

**I'm a baby, can't help but keep on crying**

**And if I have to take this pain**

**To make**** it; it's all so good"**

Mitsuki was singing with such an expression on her face: a mix between intense sadness and pure joy. Or was it simply hope and confidence? Whatever it was, it was a really strong emotion and she felt it with all her heart.

"**Tomorrow is sparkling with new promises**

**It doesn't really matter if I can't go back to that time**

**Tomorrow's way of life is scarier than before**

**But I'm going down a path that I can't ever back down"**

Most people around applauded. Mitsuki blushed as she came out of her trance. She bowed to the crowd of teens and said a small squeaky "thank you". She didn't notice the familiar figure standing in the shadow. He was looking at her with a distressed expression.

_-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-_

**Review **to tell me what you think.** Constructive critics **are **welcome**; I really want to improve my writing.


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